Winter Yard Work- A Checklist for You

Winter yard work must be done whether you look forward to it or (*groan*) do not. As long as there is no snow on the ground, the middle or end of winter is an excellent time to do some of landscaping and yard work.

Renovate Your Lawn

Start with a lawn renovation. Give the ground a good raking in order to expose the soil, so you provide new seeds with the opportunity to do what they need to- germinate. You then should level your lawn. Do this by covering the lowest spots with new soil. If specific areas of the lawn need patching, do this now. This is also a good time to add fertilizer to the ground to help the seeds grow. The ground is wetter in the wintertime, which will provide the adequate amount of water to the seeds.

Prune Your Trees

This is an excellent time of year to prune both your trees as well as your rose bushes. To ensure the proper growth of both, pruning must take place before your trees begin to bud. You also need to get your shears out and do away with any overgrown or dead bushes. Always trim your trees that don’t bear fruit before they start to show signs of life again.

A professional pruning job done by yourself or an individual qualified in this area consists of removing any branches that cross over each other and tidying up your trees from the inside out. Branches need to be thinned out so when the fruit begins to grow it will not make them so overburdened that they break.

Dormant oil needs to be sprayed on your fruit trees approximately three times a year. Do so around the Thanksgiving holiday, around the Christmas holiday and shortly after pruning. Dormant oil is a kind of horticultural spray that is used to kill many pests in your garden, such as aphids, whiteflies, scales and other types of harmful mites.

Other

Winter is a good season to clean your flower beds and ready them for spring. Get rid of any fallen leaves or any debris that can lead to the growth of fungus or molds. Always plant your roses and your bare-root trees before spring starts. Winter is often the best time of year to buy trees at a low price.